'Gunsmoke' trumps glitter, rock and roll...

While several of my friends are headed over to Thompson-Boling Arena to see The Eagles, I'm eased back on the couch watching "Gunsmoke."

Guess I never was meant for glitter, rock and roll...

"Gunsmoke" is something of an institution. It ran in primetime for 20 years and 635 episodes, the latter of which is still a record for a scripted American television series. It is television's best western -- without a close second.

My two favorite periods are the early 30-minute episodes (1955-61) and the hour-long color episodes (1966-75). The half hour shows were lean and mean, the writing cogent and crisp. The color episodes -- the best of 'em anyway -- are like mini movies.

Part of my fondness for the show is connected to family. My late grandfather Wayne Wyatt loved this show. Back when I lived with my grandparents, he'd often poke his head in my room about 7 and say, "Is it time for Marshal Dillion yet?"

Papaw told me "Gunsmoke" was the only program my great-grandfather would watch on television, coming down to my Papaw's house each Saturday night in time to root on Marshal Matt Dillon.

My dad loves it, too. We'll often compare favorite episodes we've seen lately when we talk on the telephone.

I also like to listen to the radio show when I can't sleep. It stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, Parley Baer as Chester, Howard McNear as Doc Adams and Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell. The show, which ran for nearly a decade, pioneered the use of sound effects and is darker and edgier than the television version. Listen to episodes here.

My friend Dean Harned surprised me on my birthday one year by purchasing me an autographed photo of James "Marshal Dillon" Arness. I felt like I'd won the lottery.

My heroes have always been cowboys, and still are, it seems...

Tall in the saddle

For 20 years --- 20 years! --- he rode tall in the saddle.

He roamed the streets of Dodge City, first on Saturday nights, then later early on Monday nights, in the time slot vacated by "Gilligan's Island."

And now Marshal Matt Dillon and "Gunsmoke" are back on DVD.

I love old westerns. I love the purity of them, the feel of them, the simple, uncomplicated morality of them.

I like "Gunsmoke" because it's far and away the best acted, best written show of its kind ever presented on American television.

The program began in 1952 as a radio series on CBS. Gritty, realistic, "Gunsmoke" was an immediate hit and ran for nine years.

In 1955, CBS brought a slightly more tame version of the show to television. Depending on whom you believe, the part of Matt Dillon was initially offered to John Wayne, who didn't want to commit to the rigors of a weekly TV series. (The radio version's Dillon, actor William Conrad, was thought too portly to play the Marshal on television).

Wayne recommended his pal James Arness for the part. It was perfect. The program went on to have the longest run of any dramatic series with continuing characters in the history of television.

I watched some of the first season episodes late last night in the new Season 1 set from CBS/Paramount. The episodes are remastered, sharper than ever, and lean and mean in the program's early 30 minute format.

If you like this kind of thing, you'll be pleased to discover that "Gunsmoke" has aged well, if you overlook the primitive set design of the early shows. (Tombstones blow in the wind as Dillon walks up to Boot Hill to contemplate the meaning of justice.)

Maybe westerns were simply the reality TV-esque fad of their day. At one point, there were 30 of 'em on the major networks at the same time.

Today there are none, zero, zilch. It's too bad. Watching the tall, tough hero face down the bad guys in the middle of the street is something that never goes out of style.

The only thing I still can't figure out is why, oh, why, Dillon never settled down with Miss Kitty...